


Secret Library

by HathorAroha



Series: Fictober 2018 [5]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Fluff all the way down, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 18:03:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16246964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HathorAroha/pseuds/HathorAroha
Summary: Plumette and Lumiere show Adam a small, hidden library at the bottom of a spiral stairwell in a tower of the castle.





	Secret Library

**Author's Note:**

> For @fictober18, with the prompt, "You should have seen it"

_I despise algebra._

Adam plopped his chin on his hand, tapping his pencil against the desk, his mind distracted by what sounded like a couple birds squabbling outside. 

 _At least_ they  _don’t have to learn algebra._

When he grew up and became the ruler, Adam was  _absolutely_ going to ban algebra from France all together. He couldn’t see what it had to do with anything, much less ruling over his family’s part of France. It was  _boring_ , and yet his math teacher devolved into paroxysms of excitement whenever algebra came up.

_I don’t understand adults._

Certainly a thought any child could relate to– 

He jumped as one of the side doors into the library banged open, followed immediately by excited shouts. 

“Adam! ADAM!” 

Adam dropped his pencil, twisting around in his seat to find the source of his name, and he at once sat up straighter, unable to hold back a smile of relief as he saw it was Plumette and Lumiere. 

“Adam!” Plumette, breathless, eyes bright and wide, and  _glowing_ with excitement, stopped before the boy, grabbing his hand in her own warm, soft one. He didn’t resist, glad for any chance to get away from algebra. Honestly the worst thing since yucky adult romances like  _Romeo and Juliet._

“What do you want to show me?” he asked, as Lumiere took his other hand and pulled him up to his feet. 

“ _Mon prince_ , we cannot wait to show you!” Lumiere exalted, “Plumette and I never thought such a thing existed in the castle!” 

“You should have seen it!” Plumette enthused.

“What are you talking about?” Though Adam has no earthly idea what they could have discovered, he can’t help but feel their excitement infect him too as he is tugged along with them at quickspeed back the way they had come. 

“Can you tell me what it is?” 

Plumette grinned, shook her head. “No, not yet, Adam.” 

“Why not? Just a hint?” 

Lumiere gives Adam’s hand a strong squeeze, just as hush-hush as Plumette on the whole matter.

“We want to see your face when you see it.” Plumette said to Adam.

“It’s astonishing! It’s eye-opening! It’s a marvel and a miracle!” 

Adam can’t help but laugh, the first he’s had all day, caught up in the fervour of the mystery two of his favourite people in the castle were leading him to. At the same time, he realizes that they were now taking him down a narrow spiral of stairs, and Adam imagined himself inside a snail’s shell. Just when he thought he knew every nook and cranny of the castle…

“Where are we going?” 

Plumette giggled. “Not telling!” 

The stairs spiral and spiral for so long Adam thought they might twist right down under the earth itself, into its very heart. But eventually they stopped before an old wooden door with ribbons of light peeping through cracks in the old wood. Down here, Adam can smell damp stones, and goosebumps skitter over his arms as the cold bit into him. At least Plumette’s and Lumiere’s hands grasping his keep him warm enough that not even the coldest unexplored corners of the castle could hurt him. 

“Close your eyes,” Lumiere directed Adam, and Plumette let go of the boy’s hand to step behind him and cover his eyes with both hands. 

“Ready?” Lumiere asked, and Adam nodded, resisting bouncing with excitement. “ _Really_ really ready?” 

“Yes!” 

“Excellent!” 

Adam’s heart pounded in his chest, purring in anticipation like a tiny cat inside him. He can barely contain himself as Lumiere pushes the door open, the hinges groaning from being awakened after a century of sleep. 

“Time to wake up, sleeping beauty,” Lumiere commented, “God only knows when you were last opened, not counting ten minutes ago.” 

Plumette ushered Adam forward, hands still covering his eyes, the toes of her shoes nipping at his heels. 

“It is full of ancients,” Lumiere relates from up ahead, shoes sounding against stone and damp and moss, “How much forbidden–”

“Shh! He might guess and the surprise will be ruined!” 

_Forbidden knowledge? Not opened for years? Ancients?_

“He may as well open his eyes now, Plumette.” 

Plumette’s hands drop from Adam’s still-shut eyes. 

“Alright Adam, open your eyes!” 

The first thing Adam saw on opening his eyes is row upon row, shelves upon shelves, scrolls stacked upon scrolls, and… _how many words are there in the world? How many in this secret nook of the castle alone?_ Wide blue eyes pop as he took in the ancient, hidden room of the castle, the room Plumette and Lumiere had discovered. 

“You…you  _found_ this?” Adam doesn’t dare move from where he is, lest he lose this stillness of magical wonder, “How?” 

Lumiere grinned down at him, looking, if possible, just as in wonder as Adam is over this secret library. “That’s for us to know and you to wonder about.” 

“Have you found others like this?” Adam asked him, turning in a slow circle to absorb as much of this wonder as he can. 

“No, unfortunately,” Lumiere said, “But on my honour, we will let you know at once, just as we have now.” 

“Promise me?” 

Lumiere bowed deeply to the prince. “You have my word,  _mon prince_. And may you be company to all the words that have languished down here for so long.”

 _Always,_ Adam decides on the spot,  _And father shall never know of this library._

“You’re not going to tell father about this library are you?” 

“Never, on our words of honour!” Plumette’s arm comes around his shoulders, holding him to her in a small hug, “This is a secret close to our hearts.” 

“Plumette speaks the truth. We’ll never tell, I swear upon my honour.” 

Adam cannot stop smiling, his cheeks hurt from smiling, but he didn’t care. Two of his best friends in the world have discovered another little hidden library, and he couldn’t think of a better surprise. 

And here, he could hide away from his father, in this tiny spiral of the castle with its hidden door. And he would invite his friends down here, and they would keep him company too, just like all the books here will.


End file.
